Road Trip!

For Spring break this year we headed to California with the Bowcutts. We left bright and early (5:00am) and it was snowing. We were so excited to be going to warmer weather. It was about 75 degrees the whole week. It started to rain on our way home, but other than that...it was great. Patrick served his mission in Los Angeles, California. We were lucky enough to be able to spend a few days in Hermosa Beach with a mother and daughter he taught while on his mission. Ada and Mayra Padilla were so great. They let us stay in their house and taught us how to make some really good food. They live just a few blocks away from the beach, which was wonderful. This is a view from their home. We stayed a few days in Hermosa Beach, on Sunday after church we went and walked around the Los Angeles Temple. It was so beautiful, I wish we would have had more time to be able to go through a session.

It was so great. We got to spend a whole day at the beach, soaking up the sun. I kinda forgot sunscreen for the first little while and I paid for it. Here are some pictures of our adventure. The one of Jared, Emily and me is when we walked over to a pier. It was really cool because there were a ton of fishermen. Many of them actually caught fish...they were tiny, but they still caught them.

Mayra helped us to get a great deal on tickets to Disneyland and California Adventure. We spent the first day at Disneyland. It was so much fun going on all the rides, shopping and watching the shows. They have an awesome fireworks show every night. They played a bunch of different Disney songs and the fireworks went along with the songs. Here's us with Mickey!

The morning that we left we were able to go to a session at the San Diego Temple. It has always been my very favorite temple, and now it is more than ever. If you ever had the chance to go, do it! Make sure you ask for a tour as well. When we came out of the session, they grabbed us to do sealings too. It was an amazing experience. We even ran into another couple from Logan in the temple. We had such a great time in California. P.S. Mayra we didn't get a picture of you...Next time for sure!

Happy Easter!

Easter was great this year. We were able to have my parents come up and have dinner with us. It was my first time cooking a turkey. (Warning for anyone who hasn't ever cooked a turkey...cleaning out the inside is DISGUSTING!!!) It all turned out great though. My mom brought up rolls, whip cream fruit salad(one of my favorites), and she also made a yummy chocolate cheesecake. She also helped to make the rest of the food which was great. I had a really good time with my dad and mom. On Saturday we colored Easter eggs. When I woke up this morning they were hidden around the house for me to find. At church we had great speakers. They talked about the Atonement and how important it is to remember it in our daily lives and especially to remember the feeling that comes with the Atonement. I really enjoyed Kim's talk about remembering the true meaning of Easter and not getting all worked up about the worldly parts. All around, we had a wonderful day. Here is Patrick all ready to start Look at my pretty purple egg Look at the concentration in his face All finished, don't they look great

Happy St Patricks Day!

Waking up to a green breakfast...what more could you ask for? This year for St Patricks Day we didn't wake up early enough for a green breakfast, so we had a green breakfast for dinner. Waffles and scrambled eggs. It was a lot of fun to make them...even though they look a little rotten, at least the eggs, I think this will be a fun thing to start for a tradition. We may even venture out to other green items in the future.

BBQ Accident

I'm a moron. Here's the reason why: I turned on the Grill after a long winter off and let the gas run too long before igniting the flames. If you notice on the picture, the hair on my arm took the brunt of the accident.

Mark! Set! Not Fast Enough!

On February 29th our ward had its second annual Pinewood Derby. Last year we came in third place and this year we were hoping for improvement...with out changing anything to the car we made last year from using only a flathead screwdriver, a hammer, and sandpaper. Let's say we had a good time but didn't fair as well as hoped. :) It was nice to have such an amazing track and to eat wonderfully prepared food from the Elders Quorum...hot dogs and tang! Below is a video of a race we won but there is a disclaimer. I didn't know that the camera had started recording so its really shaky until the race starts and after we win because I was so happy. Don't get sick!

All Bundled Up & Ready To Go

Over Presidents Day weekend the Webb's invited us to go up to their cabin to go snowmobiling. We had a great weekend playing in the snow. Their cabin is up in Soda Springs, ID. We had to snowmobile in to their cabin. Patrick Nicky One night we went to Lava Hot Springs. It was really great because it was so cold that when we got to the springs, there was so much steam all around us. After Lava we went to eat at The Wagon Wheel. All the boys got Cowboy burgers. They were huge. Before: After: One thing that will always be remembered is our late night disney seranade. As we were falling asleep Patrick sang disney songs. It was funny because when he would get to one that someone else really liked, they would join in. Lets just say it was really late.

Happy Valentines Day!

For Valentines day this year we had a really great day. I had to work, but at work we gave out yummy heart shaped sugar cookies and milk to all of our customers...we all were able to take some home as well. Old Grist Mill has the best cookies. Patrick had a great date planned for us. He picked me up from work and we went to eat at Firehouse, one of my favorite places to eat. They gave each girl a flower on their way out. After that we went home for a little while. He had a bouquet of flowers that he made for me out of Hershey's Kisses and Dove hearts. They were amazing. I have never been given flowers like that before, it was great. He also got me the movie No Reservations, which I love. All week he had been working on part of my present. I finally found out what it was. He made me a coupon book with all of my favorite things in it. He even has pictures on each coupon. It is great, I have already used a few of them:) Patrick had another surprise for me. We went ice skating. I have been wanting to go for so long, and we just haven't gotten around to it. It was so much fun. When we got home, we watched my new movie.

Whats Been Happening

First of all I must say that today was a very beautiful day. It seems like it has just been snowing and snowing and snowing. Here is a great picture of all of the snow we have had. We had a great snow cleaning party before work. We also voted. This is my second time EVER voting. Our last ward party was called, "The Newlywed Game." Patrick and I were in it. We were in the first group of four couples and we won. Then we had a face-off round with the Olsen's and I must say it was close, but we just couldn't cut it. It was a lot of fun to see how much we think alike with the answers that we gave. Some of the many questions were... What was your favorite vacation? When was your first date? What is one item of clothing that your wife owns that is crazy? What color is your husbands toothbruth? How long was it before your first kiss? It was really interesting to find out so many things about different people in our ward as well. We had a great time. By the way, Happy Valentines Day!

President Hinckley

I have to admit what a shock it was when we heard that President Hinckley had passed away. I guess I thought that he would just live forever. At 97 years he did so many wonderful things. I have really enjoyed hearing all of the stories and things he accomplished in his life. As I watched his funeral, I couldn't help but think of how happy he must be to be with his wife again. I will truly miss him and remember him forever. I really like this tribute to President Hinckley that Jamie had posted on her blog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DONH655IR1E Last night as I was watching the broadcast of our new first presidency I had the best feeling. I am so excited for the coming years and getting to know these great men better. I loved all of the answers that President Monson gave during the question and answer part. I can just tell that he is being led by the spirit. Over the last week I have been thinking how it is going to be hard to feel the same way about another Prophet as I felt about President Hinckley. He is the Prophet that I remember, but last night as I watched President Monson, President Eyring and President Uchtdorf, I had an amazing feeling. It will not be as hard as I thought. I don't think I have ever seen President Eyring smiling so big. I love and support the new first presidency. If you didn't get a chance to watch the broadast you can access it at http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/

LOST is back!

For anyone who does not know, we are HUGE fans of the show called LOST! It is going to be starting the 4th season, and I must say that I am rather excited for something to actually happen...lets hope we get more info this season. I don't want to ruin what has happened for anyone, but the with last years season finale, I am really interested in finding out what the heck is going on. It all starts next Thursday night with a two hour season premier.

Once there was a Snowman!

The other day we woke up to so much snow. Snow can only mean one thing...It's time to build a snowman of course! We had so much fun getting our snowman all put together, and then it was time for the face, buttons, hat and scarf. Growing up, I always would find rocks for the eyes, mouth and buttons, but we searched all around our apartment, and no rocks were to be found. We had a game that had some round black balls that were perfect for the eyes. For the mouth we used a plastic candy cane top(you know the kind you get in your stocking that are full of kisses or M&M's). We didn't have any large carrots, so a baby carrot was great for the nose. The buttons were the peppermint candies, and Casey was walking by and donated a wonderful scarf to finish it off.

The man with the horned rimmed glasses.

I'm not sure if you can tell what this is a picture of, but for those of you who have ever watched the TV show, Heros, this is a picture of Clair's dad. I was sitting on our couch one day and when I got up, this is what was left. My pants evidently made a great picture in our couch. Patrick noticed that it looked like a person and then we both thought of the man with horned rimmed glasses. It was just interesting...

Happy Thanksgiving...Merry Christmas...Happy New Year!

Our Christmas Tree-Each year we get a new ornament. This year we got a really cool one of the Grinch shoving a Christmas tree up the chimney. Wow! I can't believe it is the new year already. It seems like I was just graduating and now all of the sudden Christmas is over and the new year is here. I just wanted to tell how are holiday's have been. Starting with Thanksgiving. We were able to go up to Rock Springs, Wyoming for Thanksgiving. It was a quick trip because I had to work the day before and after, but we really had a great time. Patrick's mom's family is from there, so we had Thanksgiving at his Aunt Jenny's house. My sister got married, and we had a reception on December 1st in Orem. It was really great to see all of my family that were able to come out. I am the youngest of eight children, so usually when we go home for visits there are not many kids home, it is always great when everyone gets together. Christmas came very quickly. This year we spent Christmas at my parents home in Orem, Utah. My sister Denise and brother in law, Scott and their kids, Jordan, Spencer, Kelsey, and Cody were also able to come from Effingham, Illinois...Yes it is really called Effingham. My brother Gary and sister in law Katie were also there from Lehi. We had a great time just relaxing and spending time with family. It was so great to have a white Christmas this year as well. I love waking up to snow on Christmas morning and have been wondering if we would actually get it. A few years ago my mom decided to make each of us a Christmas decoration box so we would be able to have Christmas decorations. This is one of my favorites. It hangs perfectly over the towel rack. Patrick and I decided to do a big present this year instead of a few small ones. WE BOUGHT AN XBOX 360. Crazy, I know, but it has been alot of fun. We got Dance Dance Revolution from our parents, this is my all time favorite game...I think:) Although, Fruzion Frenzy is pretty fun too. Patrick got NCAA 08 Football which was a huge hit with my nephews and brothers. Whats Christmas morning without a bow in your hair? We were back home for less than a week when we ventured back down to Layton for an annual New Years Eve party with Patrick's high school friends. It has been great getting to know them and seeing the changes in them each year. As friends get married or have kids, we always have someone new. We played alot of games and had a white elephant gift exchange. Well, now we are back and ready for the new year. It always seems like once Halloween hits, the new year comes rather fast and then we are back to work and school and our normal lives. We are very excited for this coming year and the new adventures life will bring. We wish everyone a Happy New Year! Here are few more pictures of Christmas!

~Happy Halloween~

Our Awesome Pumpkins! Okay, so I know it is almost a month too late for this blog, but I have been a little busy. We had a great halloween just staying at home and handing out candy. The Bowcutt's came over and we played games and watched a movie. Here is Patrick focusing very hard to make his pumpkin just perfect...I think the pirate flag was great. I decided to take a goofy stand and make my pumpkin crazy. For work we could dress up if we wanted to. I went as a 50's girl. This next picture is of my office. From left to right, Krista was a gypsy, Jaime had some crazy socks on, Lori was Princess Leia, Rhonda was a nurse, then there's me, and lastly we have Lynette, who just wore black and orange.

What If I Was On The Simpsons?

I have never really like the Simpson's, but really who can say that they haven't seen someone that they thought looked just a little bit like a character from the Simpson's. I found this website on a friends blog and thought it would be funny to see what me and my husband looked like, so I tried it. Patrick Nicky If any of you want to try it yourselves, here is the website. http://simpsonizeme.com/#